Philadelphia Man Arrested For Trafficking Drugs over Darknet

Henry Konah Koffie, 32, a resident of Darby, Pa. was arrested for possessing fentanyl drugs for distribution. Fentanyl has been reported to be a deadly drug.

Philadelphia is gradually becoming a home for drug distribution. It was recently revealed that drugs are located in a portion known as “the tracks” which is located few miles from Philadelphia. The track has hosted a lot of drug dealers, and several of them have lost their lives from overdose in that area.

Koffie is a product of a recent investigation launched by multiple agencies in the US. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Portland Police Bureau, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations joined hands to trap Darknet drug dealers.

The authorities started the investigation into the widely known Darknet website, Alphabay in May last year. “NARCOBOSS”, an expert in Darknet drug deals became the center of the investigation after an overdose took two lives in the Portland Area. A report said that an investigation into the origin of fentanyl into the area led to the identification of “NARCOBOSS” as a prime suspect.

According to the report, NARCOBOSS completed a total of 3,700 transactions on the Darknet and obtained $284,800 worth in Bitcoin for a fentanyl mix.

The United State of America as a whole has many users on the Darknet who act as drug vendors, and some manage to smuggle drugs to the street and sell it to users. This maybe is a reason for the rise of the Drug overdose death toll in the country.

The Homeland Security Investigation executed search warrants in July of this year, and Koffies home was brought to light. During the search, evidence was obtained, and it was enough to tie Koffie’s with the drugs, and about 500 grams of drugs suspected to be fentanyl were obtained. Alongside the suspected fentanyl, authorities also seized several items such as scales, electronic media, bank statements, suspected micro cellulose and miscellaneous documents related to the distribution of fentanyl.

In fact, it was reported that it took Koffie, just a year to possess 14 packages of fentanyl believed to have been originated from China. The packages made its way into the country through a postal courier to the address provided.

Koffie and some other Darknet drug users have survived for the past years due to the loopholes in the Postal Service. Several attempts to fix and make Drug smuggling, a thing of the past in US seem to be just a dream. Juliette Kayyem, National security analyst said that drugs could not be stopped ones they get into the country: “Once it enters this country, it’s essentially too late. People should think about it like airport security. All the screening of foreign travelers is done before they get on a plane because once they’re here, it’s impossible to stop it. We should do the same for the mail system.”

The US government has promised to fix the problem with the Postal services that makes it difficult to detect narcotics. President Donald Trump promised to close the loopholes that favor the shipment of drugs. He said at a campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire that: “We will close the shipping loopholes that China and others are exploiting to send dangerous drugs across our borders in the hands of our own postal service. These traffickers use loopholes in the Postal Service to mail fentanyl and other drugs to users and dealers in the United States. A Trump administration will crack down on this abuse, and give law enforcement the tools they need to accomplish this mission.”

Koffie faces criminal counts for import, manufacture, distribution and the possession of a controlled substance. He is partly a contributor of the fentanyl overdose that is sweeping across the country like fire.

Koffie, who is in custody in Philadelphia, faces additional charges and he is expected to be flown to Oregon to face his sentence.

The suspect is not the only Darknet drug vendor who has been busted in Philadelphia. A Philadelphia man was arrested and charged in Mexico on the count of dealing in Drugs, a few months ago. Angel Leon was arrested and charged with a criminal homicide of drug delivery which resulted in the death a 52-year-old man.